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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

State of the Jungle - Article 2

State of the Jungle: Article 2 - Thresh Patch V1.0.0.154

State of the Jungle is an article series that details current meta changes in the jungle. It is aimed to inform players of all skill levels on how the jungle is currently played when effected by tournament results and solo queue formalities.

Check out the League of Giant Belts after the jump!

Warmogs climbing the popularity ladder in League of Legends

Itemization for junglers and bruisers in general have really changed since IEM Katowice. Specifically, the importance of health. Bruisers have been building Warmogs and Sunfire Cape to great success in this meta in both competitive play and solo queue. According to statistics, at IEM Katowice, 106 Giant's Belts, 43 Warmogs, and 25 Sunfire Capes were bought out of 19 games. Champions with base damage who used to be able to build resists and tanky are now able to just build health instead. With the introduction of heavy armor shred items, team compositions, and champions, building resits in this meta are no longer as effective as building health. As a result, items like Warmogs, Sunfire Cape, and Randuin's Omen are extremely successful.

Following two major posts on popular website Reddit, I have been testing the effectiveness of Ninja Tabi and Madred's Razor on every jungler.

Ninja Tabi's Passive now blocks 10% of the damage from all basic attacks

Ninja Tabi's passive was recently updated to effect 10% of damage from all basic attacks, not just champion attacks. As a result, Ninja Tabi's passive is extremely helpful on junglers who do not have sustain as it's passive blocks creep damage. I have began building Ninja Tabi on more junglers in general simply because it is more appealing to junglers. Although it does go against the previous statement of health being more effective than resists, Ninja Tabi is a small investment that helps a champion stay more healthy in the jungle. Ninja Tabi is extremely effective on bruiser / carry junglers who do not have natural sustain (Zed). Furthermore, with an additional item to build tenacity out of and tenacity masteries, Mercury's Treads are no longer as appealing.

Madred's Razors is now more cost effective and efficient than spirit stone

Traditionally, Madred's Razor was only brought on champions who would build wriggles and and attack damage. Support jungler's like Maokai and Cho'Gath would opt for Spirit Stone instead of Madred's Razor when upgrading their Hunter's Machete. However, Madred's Razor was changed and no longer builds out of long sword. Madred's Razor gives 25 armor in addition to it's creep clearing passives. Taking from the idea's from the original post, Madred's Razor gives every jungler, theoretically, faster clear time. I have personally found that although Madred's Razor is less effective than Spirit Stone for junglers who require the sustain and do not build attack damage; however, I have opted to purchase Madred's Razors over Spirit Stone on support junglers who have sustain. Furthermore, Madred's Razor is cheaper than Spirit Stone to build by 100 gold allowing more flexibility in early game builds.

Health has been significantly shifted in all camps to the big creep making all camps more difficult to clear with AoE. Although AoE is still efficient in the jungle, champions that used to rely on AoE and auto attacks to clear the camps now find that they are standing in the camps for a little longer. Moreover, the wraith camp has been nerfed by riot again. Following gold and health allocations of the wraith camp, it is now more beneficial to complete the wolf camp than the wraith camp. I find myself running to the wolf camp over the wraith camp when I just ported to base much more often now.

The Meta has shifted to every jungler building Ninja Tabi, Madred's Razors, Aegis, Sight Stone, and Warmogs.

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A League of Legends Jungling Blog

As a main jungle player in the popular game League of Legends, ChaiPod aims to provide insight, guides, and comments as he journeys on pursuit of becoming a better player.
Feel free to contact him with questions, inquiries, or opportunities!